Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make…They’ll Be Watching You!, Thomas McCauley

Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make… They’ll Be Watching You!

Thomas McCauley John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University Mccauleyt@mail.montclair.edu

If we choose to view it as such, working with students in a large ensemble setting can be the ultimate—and even most intimate—form of musical communication. When we truly listen to our ensemble, we stand to learn a great deal about them, and gain even greater insight into ourselves. In my work with young, graduate student conductors, I am often asked during a lesson, “What should I do during this passage of the music?” Invariably, my response is “If you just listen to them, your students will tell you exactly what they need from you.” As ensemble leaders, we have great influence on those we are responsible for teaching. And, if we are open enough, those we teach can, in turn, influence us. Still, even in the most democratic of rehearsal atmospheres, an ensemble cannot help but reflect the musical and technical priorities of its conductor. So, if we as conductors are truly “in tune” with the sounds our groups make, and with the individual people who make those sounds, we stand to better understand our own strengths and weaknesses as musicians, teachers, and conductors and, moreover, as human beings.

This communal approach to teaching-and-learning and rehearsing requires, however, that conductors be aware of and open to the idea that, quite often, what we give from the podium is exactly what we get from our ensemble. The ability of a teacher-conductor to connect with the members of an ensemble is directly related to several factors, the most important of which is a leader’s musicianship. Even armed with the most effective rehearsal strategies and a sincere intent, a teacher-conductor is still extremely limited without the ability to “hear” ideal versions of a score and, at the same time, compare those ideal versions to the actual sounds being produced by student musicians. It is then, and only then, that the teacher-conductor can begin the process of bringing the actual sound as close to the sound of the “ideal” as is possible. When a teacher-conductor possesses a loud, strong, inner version of the piece being rehearsed, born from many hours of study and preparation, miraculous things can happen, even with the most inexperienced groups. Another factor in helping create a community of intimate, spontaneous, communicative music making with an ensemble is connected to the way the teacher-conductor moves on the podium. Although some teacher-conductors are able to produce acceptable sounds from their groups in spite of the manner in which they move on the podium, most are not. When every conducting gesture has meaning, and is motivated by either ideal inner hearing or the actual sounds, those gestures can become extremely potent. In everyday life, it is often not difficult to separate people who really mean what they say from people who don’t. The same holds true for any and every conducting gesture. A conducting gesture absent of meaning not only limits the process of improvement, it also teaches the ensemble to treat you as one would treat someone who talks a lot, but rarely means anything they say. Additionally, it teaches the ensemble to treat you as someone who talks a lot, but rarely listens in conversation. Meaning comes from depth, and depth comes from experience, and experience is born from hard work. I rarely teach specific conducting gestures in my work with young teacher-conductors. Instead, I teach the importance of listening and reacting to sound, both internal and external. I help teacher-conductors to allow the body to move in ways that will help bring together the internal and external sounds in harmony with the meanings being made in the music making moment. Most teacher-conductors are oblivious to the many and varied ways in which they influence their

ensembles. The language they use, the gestures they make, and even the breaths they take can either positively or negatively influence an ensemble. As an example, band conductors quite often are told to be sure to “take a breath” during every preparatory gesture which, in and of itself, is not bad advice. However, when that breath is shallow, loud, or through the nose, it only reinforces and encourages the taking of an inadequate breath on the part of the ensemble. At a minimum, a badly inhaled breath on the part of the conductor forces the ensemble to make a choice (“Does he really mean for us to breathe that way?”) to either ignore the conductor, or to do what the conductor meant rather that what he said. Our goal should be to eliminate, in every way possible, any ambiguity as to what is said, both verbally and non-verbally, on the podium.

I seem to remember a conductor once saying something like, “Every word you utter on the podium is just one more nail in your coffin.” This holds true, particularly when working with highly advanced students and/or professional ensembles. Of course when working with less advanced, younger students, it is often necessary to explain things during the rehearsal process. However, young teacher-conductors are often shocked by how little they actually need to speak during a rehearsal and still accomplish all of their goals with an ensemble each day.

When the use of spoken language is necessary, the language we use, and how and when we use it, is of vital importance. For instance, when a teacher-conductor stops an ensemble, it should be for a good reason. Even if the reason for stopping is good, but the conductor does not fully and completely clarify that reason (and the suggestions for improvement) to the ensemble, valuable rehearsal time is wasted and ambiguity ensues. Simply saying, “Go back to measure 5,” will only allow you to hear, once again, the same thing you just heard. When a teacher-conductor stops an ensemble during rehearsal, her suggestions and feedback should be brief, positive, to the point, and contain practical, doable, and valuable actions for improvement. The language the teacher-conductor uses should be as inclusive as possible. Additionally, encouraging students to be a part of that improvement process is like, as they say, “putting money in the bank.” Here are some examples • Rather than saying, “I need to hear the trumpets at B,” say “Let’s listen to the trumpets at letter B, because this time they are going to try to…” • Rather than saying, “Softer at measure 201!” ask “Who can tell us where the melody is? Are you able to hear that melody?” • Rather than launching into a lengthy explanation each time you stop an ensemble, ask “Why might we have stopped there?” • Rather than yelling, “Watch me!” ask “Did anyone notice what I was trying to tell you there through my gesture?”

Asking these kinds of open-ended questions can only help to increase an ensemble’s awareness of what is happening both around them and on the podium. Students should be an integral part of the improvement process; that their musicianship and humanity are important to the communal efforts of the ensemble.

Still, the use of verbal language during a rehearsal should be the last (not the first) resort. I encourage young teacher-conductors to first show what they want non-verbally. At that point, if there is no observable change in the ensemble, they then have the right to ask, “Who was able to get the ‘memo’ I was sending just then?” When silence follows that question, as it often will, especially when getting to know a young ensemble, ask them to play that section again, and ask them to see if they can pick up what you are “trying to say.” In addition to improving and heightening the awareness among the students in your ensemble, relying primarily on non-verbal communication during the course of a rehearsal will also teach you how effective your gestures actually are. We live in a remarkably visual society. One positive turn of that is that young people are programmed to respond to visual stimuli; we teacher-conductors should harness that ruth.

As teacher-conductors of elementary school, middle school, high school, and university students, what we say and do both on and off the podium is important. Most teachers try to institute, either officially or by implication, certain codes of conduct that each member of an ensemble is required to respect and adhere to. In some cases, these edicts are not worth the paper they are written on, because the person in charge violates these “rules” nearly every day. We expect punctuality from students, yet we start and end our rehearsals late. We expect students to treat one an-

other respectfully and professionally, yet we gossip about our colleagues within earshot of the students. We expect students to practice and prepare for every rehearsal, yet we do not study and prepare ourselves. We encourage students to listen and become familiar with new genres and styles of music, and yet we ourselves rarely ever expand our musical horizons in that manner. What we say does not resonate with our students as loudly as what we do. Many students do not listen to their own parents or guardians, so why would they listen to their music teacher? Experience tells me that they will, indeed, listen to their music teacher, but only if that teacher • Makes it obvious that they have the best interests of the students in mind at all times and in all circumstances, and that they are willing to go “above and beyond the call of duty” to do what is best for them. • Is obviously deeply committed to what they do, to the students they teach, and to the repertoire they choose. • Is fair and consistent in their treatment of all. • Is a model of high expectations and self-improvement. • Never asks anyone to do anything that they themselves are not willing to do.

In some cases, you, as the teacher-conductor, are the most influential person in your students’ lives. It is an immense responsibility, and one that should never be taken lightly.

“Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they’re going to catch you in next.” ~Franklin P. Jones

“Education…is a painful, continual and difficult work to be done in kindness, by watching, by warning, by praise, but above all…by example.” ~John Ruskin

Thomas McCauley is currently the Director of University Bands in the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he conducts the Montclair State University Wind Symphony, and teaches both graduate and undergraduate conducting. He is an award-winning Music Educator, and is the author of the book, “Adventures in Band Building”.

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Bachelor of Arts in Music Bachelor of Arts in Music (combined with a second major) Bachelor of Music Education Bachelor of Music in Performance

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